The
retrofitting plan may indicate the helicopter's equipment could be a factor in
the crash's devastating consequences. Both Papillon Airways and Airbus, the
manufacturer of the helicopter involved in February's crash, have been the
subject of lawsuits in the past.

Papillon
Airways most recently faced scrutiny following a similar crash in 2001 in which
six people died, and one survivor was severely injured. The NTSB deemed the
cause of that crash to be pilot error, but the tour company said they did not
agree with the conclusion.

Papillon
Airways Announces New Fuel System Retrofit

Just two
weeks after a tragic and headline-grabbing fatal helicopter crash in Nevada's
Grand Canyon, the company operating the tour announced its decision to retrofit
the rest of its fleet of helicopters with new fuel systems that may fare better
upon impact.

News of
the impending change came via StandardAero, the company that will manufacture
the 40 fuel systems that Papillon ordered. The new fuel tanks are designed
to expand and bend upon impact where fuel tanks of the past were more prone to
break. The StandardAero tanks also have self-sealing components to stop
leaks. Both factors are intended to improve safety and survival likelihood in
helicopter crashes by providing those on board with an opportunity to escape
the aircraft and/or crash area without being burned or exposed to smoke.

The new
fuel tanks will be installed on Papillon's Airbus AS350 B3 and EC130 B4
helicopters starting in April. The company has not said whether the crash was a
deciding factor in the purchase, though the helicopter that went down was an
EC130 B4 that caught fire on impact. StandardAero also declined to say whether
Papillon Airways had contacted them about the systems before the crash.

The
StandardAero press release on the purchase of the crash-resistant fuel systems
did, however, include a short statement from Papillon Airways.

NTSB
officials have since moved the wreckage from the crash site, which was
only accessible by helicopter or 20-mile hike, to an undisclosed location
in Phoenix, Arizona, for further examination. A suspected cause of the crash is
unlikely to be released until the full report is
released.

The
preliminary NTSB report makes it clear that the helicopter was burned after the
crash, saying that "most of the wreckage was consumed by the post crash
fire" and that the engine sustained fire damage, but no statements have
been made as to what role the fire played in the high number of fatalities.

Autopsies
conducted by the Mohave County Medical Examiner on the first three victims listed
causes of death as "multiple
injuries due to a helicopter crash," but gave no further details on to
what extent, if any, burns and possible smoke inhalation were factors.

Teddy
Fujimoto was taking photographs nearby when the crash occurred and recounted
the aftermath to KSNV.

"I
saw these two ladies run out of [the wreckage], and then an explosion," Fujimoto
said. "One of the survivors…looked all bloody. Her clothes probably
were burnt off. The ladies were screaming…it was just horrible."

"It
is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of our daughter
Eleanor Udall (nee Milward) as a result of the injuries she sustained in the
Grand Canyon helicopter crash on 10 February 2018," Eleanor's
family said in a statement.

2001
Papillon Airways Crash Killed Six

In a
previous helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon, a pilot and five passengers died
during a Papillon Airways sightseeing flight on August 11, 2001. The aircraft,
whose passengers were all members of a family from Brooklyn, was on its way
back to Las Vegas when the crash occurred.

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